For companies, embracing change means seeking out and adopting best practices. Benchmarking--the research and analysis of quantitative, empirical data--is a way to isolate weaknesses and strengths and to make connections between best practices and performances. Once these connections have been made, determining which practices are appropriate for an organization to adopt becomes a competitive imperative.

Metrics expert Chris Gardner recently discussed the dynamics of benchmarking for identifying best practices. Gardner is the manager of APQC's Center of Excellence, which helps organizations uncover performance gaps and best practices through benchmarking.